Was Kandinsky the first art therapist?

There are times when working with abstract ideas and techniques feels right for me.  It's usually when real life is throwing up lemons, and it's my way of making lemonade.  Productive therapy.

Over 100 years ago Vasily Kandinski said that abstract art had “nothing whatever to do with an object.”  When looking at his work some people would agree.  But it's extremely difficult to achieve true abstraction.  The human mind and eye try to make sense of images in terms they can understand.  Like faces in the fire or clouds, landscapes and flowers too, we often see what we want to see.

I've been working with my collection of painted and found papers together with various mixed media on water colour paper to create these small abstract paintings.  For more detailed information just click on each image.

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Cat coat of many colours - folk art

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I love my three cats but still struggle with their complex personalities.  One minute they're like furry angels, all snuggles and purrs.  The next the blood-thirsty little brats are stalking wild birds and field mice in the garden.  And they're not exactly underfed.  Just another of nature's mysteries.

George - sketchbook

 This drawing of Gorgeous George crept into my sketchbook a while back, lord of all he surveys from the kitchen window.  He rarely stirs from the house, but even he's waylaid the odd feather now and again.

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Cat nap doodling

Cat Nap - mixed media painting - 8 x 6.75 inches

This little snoozy cat mixed media piece started as a watercolour painting that was going no where, but had some pleasing colours that I thought would make a good background for other media.  I softened the colours slightly then added collaged elements of other painted and drawn papers onto it and allowed it to take on a life of its own.  Developed onwards with gouache paint, more detailed mark making with Inktense pencil and fine nib pen and ink.  The idea of the dreamy cat just started to happen. A glorified doodle really.  Doodling is so therapeutic.  If you haven't tried it yet, I can recommend it.

You can email me for information about anything you see.  A small collection of work can also sometimes be seen in my Etsy shop

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Gentle still lifes

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 I've been away from this blog for many months.  In case you're wondering I've been far from idle as studying for a fine art degree has been pretty full on.  So a nice gentle start back here with some small mixed media abstracts that kept me awake one night this week.

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 I never throw anything away.  Small scraps of painted papers formed the basis of these compositions after watercolour washes applied.

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 Left over gouache on a palette for more opaque dense areas.

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Final details added with Inktense pencils.

May be I should work nocturnally more often.  I liked the quiet, dimmed lights and the sense I was working in secret.

You can email me for information about anything you see.  A small collection of work can also sometimes be seen in my Etsy shop. 

Italian Trattoria painting

Good Food Good Friends - painting Bee Skelton

I've enjoyed every part of Italy visited so far;  obvious tourist destinations like Pisa, Florence, Rome, Sienna, San Gimignano.  But one of my favourite places doesn't seem to receive as much attention as the rest.  Apart from business types heading for the exhibition centre, folk appear to use Bologna's airport mostly as a touchdown on the way to somewhere else.  In fact the first time, my friend and I did just that before moving on to Sienna. Fortunately we explored enough to know we wanted to return for longer.

Trattoria Bologna sketch

Bologna has the oldest existing university in the world so is full of exhilarating student-life.  Among its many other attractions there are some excellent restaurants.  Let's face it, if you can't find good food in Italy .... there's something wrong with you!  I made the above painting from a sketch inspired by a crowd of students celebrating graduation.  The place was buzzing with life and excitement.  I hope from the use of colour I've been able to convey a little of the tremendous atmosphere.

You can email me for information about anything you see.  A small collection of work can also sometimes be seen in my Etsy shop. 

Winter Tree paintings

Winter Trees by Bee Skelton

 My new garden is full of painterly inspiration!  The bare branches are quite sculptural and make wonderfully dramatic shapes.  There's lots of colour too and it was a joy to observe and make this painting.  It's on a 20x20cm (8x8in) stretched canvas, painted in acrylics.  I've left the sides white and added a hanger to the reverse so it can be displayed straightaway without framing.  Email me for more information about any of my work.

Winter Trees side view.

Here in the UK they say we've had the wettest January since records began and I do feel for the many folk who are struggling in the floods.  This is our first winter in England for many years and the difference in climate between here and Cyprus is of course huge.  Weird I know, but some how I find myself absolutely loving the novelty and drama of the peculiar weather! 

Old Tree original painting 6x6 acrylic on MDF

Each week I get together with another group of artists in a nearby village.  This magnificent old tree made a perfect subject viewed through the window as we all concentrated on making a winter painting.




You can email me for information about anything you see.  A small collection of work can also sometimes be seen in my Etsy shop.